[Algorithm of ultrasonographic examination of patency of venous stents]. / Algoritm ul'trazvukovogo issledovaniia prokhodimosti venoznykh stentov.

Analysed in the article are the results of ultrasonographic examination of patency of venous stents implanted in 86 patients with obstructive lesions of the iliofemoral segment of deep veins. The authors proposed an algorithm of triplex scanning, making it possible to optimize ultrasonographic examination, as well as increasing the accuracy of assessing the state of the stent and patency of the stented segments of veins. The first stage was to examine the state of the stented venous segment in the mode of grey-scale scanning (B-mode), for which purpose the study was performed in the longitudinal and transverse projections. This made it possible to determine the qualitative state of the stent as either presence or absence of its migration and deformation, completeness of expansion, extravasal compression. The second stage was to locate the venous stent in the mode of colour Doppler mapping (CD-mode), thus making it possible to assess stent patency. The third stage was examination in the spectral Doppler mode with the use of the distal compression test. Ultrasonographically detected phasic, respiration-synchronized blood flow with an increase of its linear velocity proximal to the stent in distal compression (positive compression test) is suggestive of no obstructive alterations in the stent's lumen. Determination of the blood flow velocity makes it possible to evaluate the stent patency or stenotic alterations. Monophasic low-velocity blood flow in the ipsilateral common femoral artery may also be indirectly indicative of impaired stent patency (pronounced stenosis, thrombosis, occlusion). The proposed algorithm of ultrasonographic triplex study of patency of venous stents may be used in out-patient conditions repeatedly and safely for the patient.

[Case of endovenectomy and stenting with functioning arteriovenous fistula in extended post-thrombotic occlusion of deep veins]. / Sluchai éndovenéktomii i stentirovaniia s funktsioniruiushchei arteriovenoznoi fistuloi pri protiazhennoi posttromboticheskoi okkliuzii glubokikh ven.

We describe herein a case of surgical treatment of a 32-year-old female patient presenting with multilevel post-thrombotic occlusion of deep veins of the left lower limb. Laboratory study revealed high-risk hereditary thrombophilia (homozygous mutation of PAI-1, MTR, heterozygous mutation of MTHFR, MTRR, ITGA2). The first stage included endovenectomy from the common femoral vein with creation of an arteriovenous fistula between femoral vessels. An attempt of endovascular stenting of iliac veins was initially unsuccessful. After 3 months, the woman was rehospitalized to undergo successful endovascular operation with stenting of the iliac veins and common femoral artery on the background of the functioning arteriovenous fistula. The clinical outcome of the operation was good. Follow-up ultrasonographic examinations (ultrasound duplex scanning) were performed at 3, 6, 10 and 13 months after the second operation. The findings of ultrasound duplex scanning at 13 months showed that the stented segments of deep veins were freely patent, with the arteriovenous fistula functioning well. There were no signs of impairments of central haemodynamics, with significant regression of clinical symptoms. The total score by the Villalta scale as compared with the baseline values decreased from 13 to 5. Given the pattern of deep vein lesions, complexity of open and endovascular operations, and the presence of thrombophilia, we decided to abstain from disuniting the arteriovenous fistula. This case report demonstrates possibility, efficacy and safety of long functioning of an artificial arteriovenous fistula in a particular patient cohort.

[Immediate and remote results of endovascular embolization of ovarian veins]. / Blizhaishie i otdalennye rezul'taty éndovaskuliarnoi émbolizatsii iaichnikovykh ven.

Presented in the article is a prospective study of endovascular embolization of ovarian veins in female patients suffering from primary pelvic varicose veins, with the assessment of the immediate and remote results, as well as a 1-year follow up. AIM: The aim of our investigation was a comprehensive clinical and instrumental assessment of efficacy of endovascular embolization in women with pelvic varicose veins. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our single-centre study included a total of 29 female patients presenting with pelvic varicose veins and undergoing embolization of ovarian veins using microcoils, in 5 cases the procedure was supplemented with injecting a foam sclerosant. RESULTS: The technical success of endovascular occlusion of ovarian veins amounted to 100%. Two women immediately after the operation were subjected to a redo intervention: in one case - resection of the ovarian vein and in the second case - repositioning of the microcoils. In the remote period, one patient due to recurrent relapses underwent repeat embolization followed by retroperitoneal resection of the ovarian vein. The findings of the clinical methods of examination demonstrated a decrease in the intensity of manifestations of pelvic varicose veins according to the pelvic venous clinical severity score and visual analogue scale, as well as improvement of the women's quality of life. CONCLUSION: Endovascular occlusion of ovarian veins is a highly effective, minimally invasive, and safe method of treatment of female patients with incompetent ovarian veins. Endovascular treatment may be regarded as a method of choice in management of the primary form of pelvic varicose veins.

[Reconstructive surgery of deep veins in post-thrombotic disease: possibilities and perspectives]. / Rekonstruktivnaia khirurgiia glubokikh ven pri posttromboticheskoi bolezni: vozmozhnosti i perspektivy.

This article is a review of the literature related to the possibilities and perspectives of reconstructive operations on deep veins for post-thrombotic disease (with the data retrieved from such databases as the PubMed, Scopus, Medline and EMBASE). The most optimal variants of performing reconstructive operations on deep veins are described, accompanied and followed by analysing their outcomes with the discussion of approaches to determining the indications for these interventions. Also considered are the perspectives of bettering the results of reconstructive operations at the expense of modernizing the technologies of diagnosis and surgical treatment.

[A case of successful endovascular treatment of a patient with chronic pelvic pain and recurrent varicocele]. / Sluchai uspeshnogo éndovaskuliarnogo lecheniia patsienta s khronicheskoi tazovoi bol'iu i retsidivom varikotsele.

Described in the article is a clinical case report regarding diagnosis and treatment of pelvic varicose veins in a 34-year-old male patient presenting with compressive stenosis of the left common iliac vein (May-Thurner syndrome). The man had developed clinical symptoms of the disease as varicocele when he was 17 years old. Multiple surgical interventions on the veins of the spermatic cord failed to result in significant success. The diagnosis was verified by means of ultrasound examination and contrast X-ray phlebography. The patient was subjected to balloon angioplasty and stenting of the compressive stenosis of the left common iliac vein. The endovascular treatment performed was followed by the patient's improved condition, confirmed by methods of instrumental diagnosis, as well as by regression of clinical symptomatology.

[Endovascular treatment of women with pelvic varicose veins due to post-thrombotic iliac vein lesion]. / Éndovaskuliarnoe lechenie patsientok s varikoznoi bolezn'iu taza, obuslovlennoi posttromboticheskim porazheniem podvzdoshnykh ven.

BACKGROUND: Post-thrombotic iliac vein lesion is one of the causes of secondary pelvic varicose veins (PVV) in women. Endovascular treatment of this cohort of patients requires further studies. AIM: The study was undertaken to investigate the aspects of endovascular treatment of female patients diagnosed as having PVV secondary to post-thrombotic alterations of the iliac veins. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Presented herein are the results of diagnosis and treatment of nine women suffering from PVV in obstructive lesion of the iliac veins. All patients underwent phlebography with stenting of the iliac veins, followed by clinical and instrumental assessment of efficacy of treatment. RESULTS: The technical success rate of stenting amounted to 100%. In the early postoperative period thrombotic complications developed in two women and in the remote period in one. The operation was followed by a decrease in the intensity of PVV manifestations, as well as chronic venous insufficiency of the lower limbs, which was confirmed by clinical and instrumental methods of objectification and visualization. The composite index of quality of life was noted to decrease from 47±5.3 to 27.8±3.3 points (p<0.05). The median of the composite value of the Pelvic Venous Clinical Severity Score decreased by 8.6±1.8 points (p<0.05). The average value of the composite index of the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) diminished by 6.8±1.4 points (p<0.05) and that of the Villalta score by 8.3±1.6 points (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Pelvic varicose veins appear to develop in two of three women after endured thrombosis. The experience with stenting of the iliac veins demonstrated good efficacy and safety. Efficiency of the intervention was determined by improved quality of life of the patients and positive dynamics of the clinical course of the disease.

[Criteria for instability of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid arteries]. / Kriterii nestabil'nosti ateroskleroticheskikh bliashek sonnykh arterii.

The purpose of the study was to determine the criteria for instability of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid arteries with the use of improved and new diagnostic techniques. The study enrolled a total of 92 patients examined with the help of instrumental methods of diagnosis, including ultrasound triplex scanning, magnetic resonance imaging and multislice computed tomography. All patients were subjected to the operation of carotid endarterectomy in various standard modifications. The specimens of atherosclerotic plaques taken intraoperatively were examined with the help of morphological, immunofluorescent methods, electron paramagnetic resonance, electron microscopy. A multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the plaques with an area over 90 mm2 (OR 4.05; 95% CI 1.32-13.2; p=0.006), a volume of more than 0.6 cm3 (OR 2.72; 95% CI 1.05-9.58; p=0.04), and the JBA value of not less than 8 mm2 (OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.22-6.23; p=0.02) were statistically significant independent predictors of histologically verified unstable plaques. The results were compared to the findings of histological methods. In patients with the above mentioned ultrasonographic parameters, unstable plaques were encountered in 94% of cases. Immunofluorescent assay demonstrated a significant increase in the number of inflammatory markers (CD68+, CD36+ cells), as well as CD31+ cells as markers of neovasculogenesis in unstable plaques. According to the findings of electron paramagnetic resonance, bivalent manganese is a marker of plaque instability. Further studies will help reveal the mechanisms of plaque calcification. A decrease in the content of manganese correlated with an increase in the degree of plaque calcification (r =-0.69, p<0.01). This serves as indirect evidence of a destabilizing effect of calcification on plaque stability. It was demonstrated that ultrasound elastography makes it possible to significantly extend the capabilities of standard ultrasound examination in detecting instability of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid arteries.

[Use of thermal imager in preparation of non-reversed autovein for femoropopliteal bypass grafting]. / Ispol'zovanie teplovizora pri podgotovke nereversirovannoi autoveny dlia bedrenno-podkolennogo shuntirovaniia.

Presented herein is an original method of preparing a bypass graft (a non-reversed autovein for femoropopliteal and femorotibial bypass grafting) and assessment of quality of valvulotomy using a thermal imager. The study included a total of 31 patients. All patients subdivided into 2 groups were subjected to bypass grafting operations with the use of a non-reversed autovein. In group 1 (n=16) prior to applying a bypass graft we assessed its patency with the use of an original method by means of a thermal imaging camera. In group 2 (n=15) assessment of graft patency after destruction of valves was not performed. In group 1 there were no bypass graft thromboses in the postoperative period, whereas three (20%) patients in group 2 developed bypass graft thrombosis within the first 24 postoperative hours, requiring repeat operation. Bypass graft thrombosis was caused in all cases by insufficiently destroyed valves of the venous transplant. There were no lethal outcomes within 1 year postoperatively. Control ultrasonographic examination after 1 year revealed bypass graft thrombosis in two (13.3%) patients in group 2, leading to the development of critical ischaemia and gangrene in one (6.6%) of these patients and later on requiring limb amputation at the level of the femur. A conclusion drawn is that thermal imaging makes it possible to intraoperatively assess quality of valvulotomy in using a non-reversed autovein as a bypass graft and to improve the results of surgical treatment.

[Ultrasonographic examination of major veins of lower limbs and pelvic veins in pregnant women]. / Ul'trazvukovoe issledovanie magistral'nykh ven nizhnikh konechnostei i ven taza u beremennykh zhenshchin.

The problem of chronic venous insufficiency in women during pregnancy is of current concern. A total of 115 pregnant women in the first, second and third trimesters of gestation were examined in a stage-wise manner. During the first stage we conducted a comprehensive clinical study with the obligatory consultation by the obstetrician-gynaecologist. At the second stage, all women were subjected to ultrasonographic examination of the venous system of both lower extremities and the small pelvis. Studying the diameters of the deep veins of the right and left lower limbs, as well as the paired veins of the small pelvis demonstrated no statistically significant differences, which made it possible to evaluate these parameters as a whole. In all pregnant women, the lumen of the examined vessels was uniform, with the veins being patent, compliant, stained on colour Doppler mapping. Respiration-synchronized, phasic blood flow was registered. In the course of the study it was revealed that the diameter of the veins of the lower limbs and small pelvis increased as gestation proceeded. The findings of ultrasonographic angioscanning showed that by the third trimester of pregnancy the diameter of the femoral vein was 1.5-fold larger and that of the popliteal vein was 1.4-fold larger. The diameter of the veins of the pampiniform plexus of the ovaries during gestation was noted to have increased 1.13-fold. This was accompanied and followed by deterioration of tonic-and-elastic properties of the venous wall and the development by the third trimester of valvular insufficiency with the emergence of venous congestion. Seventeen (16%) women were found to have varicose syndrome. The above mentioned alterations of venous haemodynamics appeared to lead to impairment of blood flow in the affected veins and to the emergence of thrombogenic zones in the valvular sinuses. Of the 115 women examined, 77 (67%) were found to have degree 1 sludge and 36 (31.3%) had degree 2 sludge, with the D-dimer level in these women having increased to 773.3±37.5 ng/ml. Degree 3 sludge was observed in 2 (1.7%) women previously operated on for acute venous thrombosis. Their D-dimer level amounted to 954.3±43.2 ng/ml. It was demonstrated that studying the valvular sinuses for detection of sludge during examination of pregnant women allowed obstetricians-gynaecologists and physicians of ultrasonographic diagnosis to form risk groups for the development of deep vein thrombosis and to timely take appropriate measures aimed at prevention of the pathology concerned.

[Results of endovascular treatment of obstructive lesions of veins of the iliofemoral segment]. / Rezul'taty éndovaskuliarnogo lecheniia obstruktivnykh porazhenii ven podvzdoshno-bedrennogo segmenta.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to assess the immediate and remote results of endovascular treatment of obstructive lesions of the veins of the iliofemoral segment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed balloon angioplasty and stenting for iliofemoral venous thrombosis in a total of 75 patients. Of these, 60 patients were subjected to stenting of post-thrombotic obstructions and 15 patients underwent stenting of non-thrombotic obstructive lesions of the iliac veins (for May-Thurner syndrome - in 11, for extravasal tumour-induced compression and cicatricial stenosis - in 4). Stenting was performed using self-expanding stents Wallstent (Boston Scientific, n=84) or S.M.A.R.T. (Cordis, Johnson & Johnson, n=16). The stent diameter varied from 12 to 18 mm depending on the venous segment to be stented. The average number of the implanted stents amounted to 1.3 per patient. Efficacy of endovascular intervention was evaluated by measuring the pressure gradient and malleolar circumference. The clinical result was determined by the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS). RESULTS: Technical success of endovascular intervention amounted to 92%. Stent thrombosis in the immediate postoperative period occurred in 7 (9.3%) patients. Of these, three patients were subjected to catheter-directed thrombolysis with restoration of patency of the stented venous segment of the limb. Stent occlusion within 48 postoperative months was diagnosed in 4 cases. Two patients underwent successful repeat angioplasty and stenting. Stent restenosis of not less than 50% at 36 months of follow up was observed in 5 (16%) patients. Repeat stenting was performed in 1 case. Dynamic control of stent patency was carried out by means of ultrasonographic duplex scanning. Also performed were control multispiral computed tomography-phlebography and roentgen contrast-enhanced phlebography. Cumulative primary and secondary patency at 60 months in post-thrombotic lesions amounted to 72 and 81%, respectively, in non-thrombotic lesions to 85% (primary patency). The VCSS values demonstrated a significant decrease in manifestations of chronic venous insufficiency. The mean value of the composite parameter decreased from 14.2±4.2 to 7.5±2.6 (p<0.001), the malleolar circumference decreased from 272.3±6.7 to 250.6±6.1 mm (p<0.01). Permanent healing of trophic ulcers was noted in 5 (71%) patients. CONCLUSION: The method of endovascular angioplasty and stenting for obstructive lesions of the veins of the iliofemoral segment is a minimally invasive, safe, and highly effective therapeutic modality, which is confirmed by significant improvement of the limb's condition and good remote results of patency of the venous segments restored. Endovascular methods should be wider implemented into the clinical practice.

[Decreased retraction of blood clots in patients with venous thromboembolic complications]. / Umen'shenie retraktsii sgustkov krovi u bol'nykh s venoznymi tromboémbolicheskimi oslozhneniiami.

Haemostatic disorders play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute venous thrombosis. One of the least studied reactions of blood coagulation and thrombogenesis is spontaneous contraction of blood clots, which takes place at the expense of the contractility apparatus of activated blood platelets adhered to fibrin fibres. The work was aimed at studying the parameters of contraction of blood clots, formed in vitro, in blood of 41 patients with acute venous thromboses as compared with the same parameters in apparently healthy donors. We used a new instrumental method making it possible to determine the time from initiation to the beginning of contraction, as well as the degree and velocity of clot contraction. It was revealed that in patients with venous thrombosis the ability of clots to shrink was significantly reduced as compared with the control. We detected a statistically significant retardation of and decrease in of blood clot concentration in patients with venous thrombosis complicated by pulmonary artery thromboembolism as compared with contraction in patients with isolated deep vein thrombosis, witch may be important for early diagnosis and determination of the risk of thromboembolism. Besides, we revealed a statistically significant retardation of contraction in patients with proximal thrombosis as compared with contraction in patients with distal thrombosis, with similar values of the degree of contraction. Contraction was statistically significantly reduced in acute thrombosis (less than 21 days), whereas in subacute thrombosis (more than 21 days) the parameters of contraction were closer to normal values. The obtained findings suggest that reduction of blood clot contraction may be a new, hitherto unstudied pathogenetic mechanism deteriorating the course and outcome of venous thrombosis. The clinical significance of contraction and its impairments, as well as the diagnostic and prognostic value of the laboratory test for blood clot contraction would merit further study.

[Open prospective randomized study of the results of using Venarus in postthrombotic disease]. / Otkrytoe prospektivnoe randomizirovannoe issledovanie rezul'tatov primeneniia preparata Venarus pri posttromboticheskoi bolezni.

Presented herein are the outcomes of conservative treatment of patients suffering from post-thrombotic disease and chronic venous insufficiency of the lower extremities. Our open prospective randomized study included a total of eighty patients divided into two groups, each consisting of 40 people. All patients were subjected to standard comprehensive conservative treatment, with Group Two patients additionally prescribed Venarus. Efficacy of treatment for post-thrombotic disease was assessed with the use of the Villalta scale. The obtained findings demonstrated clinically significant improvement of the main clinical symptoms in Group Two patients, thus suggesting efficacy of the drug as soon as after a short period of administration. Treatment with Venarus in patients with distal forms of involvement of deep veins of the lower limbs was accompanied and followed by improvement of the tonicoelastic properties of the intact common femoral vein. Healing of small trophic ulcers was conditioned by efficacy of the drug at the level of the microcirculatory bed.

[Method of preventive ultrasound diagnosis of venous thrombosis]. / Metod preventivnoi ul'trazvukovoi diagnostiki venoznykh trombozov.

AIM: The purpose of the study was to work out a method of preventive diagnosis of venous thromboses by means of ultrasonographic duplex scanning (USDS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 306 people were examined. Of these, 146 patients presented with acute venous thrombosis, 108 subjects suffered from varicose veins, and 52 were apparently healthy people composing the control group. All those enrolled into the study were examined by means of USDS, with the D-dimer level determined. RESULTS: The obtained findings made it possible to discover and duly describe an ultrasonographic phenomenon of the presence of echo-positive inclusions in the zone of valvular sinuses, which was called the phenomenon of spontaneous echo contrast (SEC). This was followed by working out a classification of this phenomenon, describing two degrees thereof. Degree 1 SEC reflects the fact that the area of valvular sinuses is the most thrombogenic zone. Degree 2 SEC is characterised as a pathological, being simultaneously pre-thrombotic, condition and may serve as one of the earliest predictors of the development of venous thrombosis. A close correlation was established between the degree 2 SEC phenomenon, the presence of venous thrombosis and the values of the D-dimer level (r=0.89, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Ultrasonographic examination of valvular sinuses is a simple, readily available and reproducible method of screening and may thus be used for preventive diagnosis of acute venous thromboses. The findings of this study make it possible to form risk groups by the development of deep vein thrombosis, as well as to initiate timely measures on prevention of the pathology concerned.

[Use of Tachocomb agent in cardiovascular surgery]. / Primenenie preparata Takhokomb v serdechno-sosudistoi khirurgii.

The article contains a review of the literature concerning the use of the Tachocomb haemostatic sponge in cardiovascular surgery. This is followed by enumerating the pharmacological properties of the agent, mechanism of its action, and methods of application. Also shown herein is a high haemostatic effect of the sponge, exceeding that of other means of topical haemostasis. Both safety and a hypoallergenic nature make it possible to widely use Tachocomb in surgical practice.

[Open thrombectomy in acute iliofemoral venous thrombosis]. / Otkrytaia trombéktomiia pri ostrom podvzdoshno-bedrennom venoznom tromboze.

AIM: The study was aimed at assessing efficacy of open thrombectomy in acute iliofemoral venous thrombosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2012 to December 2016, a total of 37 patients underwent transfemoral thrombectomy for acute iliofemoral venous thrombosis. The Control Group consisted of 24 patients receiving standard anticoagulant therapy. Six patients were subjected to a hybrid operation consisting in thrombectomy supplemented with stenting of the residual compression stenosis of the left common iliac vein (CIV). The outcomes of the operations were controlled by means of duplex scanning. Clinical efficacy of the operations was evaluated with the help of the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) and CEAP classification. RESULTS: Patency of the iliofemoral segment at 6 months of follow up after thrombectomy was observed in 92% of patients. At the same time, in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy recanalization of the iliofemoral segment was observed in only 21% (5/24; χ2=31, p<0.01) of cases. Recanalization of the femoropopliteal segment 6 months after thrombectomy was noted to occur in 70% (23/33) of patients. The median of the composite index by the VCSS after 6 months decreased from 7 to 2 (p=0.002). The cumulative patency of the iliofemoral segment 36 months after surgery amounted to 86%. Clinical assessment of the remote results of thrombectomy according to the CEAP classification demonstrated that 90% (19/21) of patients were either free from or had weakly pronounced symptoms of post-thrombotic syndrome. CONCLUSION: Performing thrombectomy for iliofemoral thrombosis by selective indications using modern methods of restoring patency of deep veins significantly increases efficacy of treating patients presenting with this severe pathology and prevents the development of pronounced manifestations of post-thrombotic syndrome.

[Calcification of atherosclerotic plaques and assessment of their stability]. / Kal'tsifikatsiia ateroskleroticheskikh bliashek i otsenka ikh stabil'nosti.

Presented herein is a review of the literature concerning mechanisms of calcification of atherosclerotic plaques (ASP), showing molecular mechanisms of interaction of processes of calcification with the factors inducing instability of ASPs (anti-inflammatory cytokines, neoangiogenesis, increased level of matrix metalloproteinases, etc.), also describing the effect of the value of volume of scope of calcification on stability of ASPs, followed by discussing the problems related to the role of biominerals (hydroxyapatite calcium phosphate) and Mn2+ in calcification of ASPs and their impact upon stability of the plaque.

[Endoprosthetic repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, complicated by ischaemic necrosis of the sigmoid colon]. / Endoprotezirovanie anevrizmy bryushnoi aorty, oslozhnennoe ishemicheskim nekrozom sigmovidnoi kishki.

Presented herein is a clinical case report regarding treatment of a patient after endovascular prosthetic repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, complicated by ischaemic necrosis of the sigmoid colon. This is followed by analysing the causes of the development of the complication, as well as by a brief review of the literature concerning this problem.

[First experience with hybrid operations for chronic obstruction of iliac-femoral segment veins in patients with post-thrombotic disease]. / Pervyi opyt gibridnykh operatsii pri khronicheskoi obstruktsii ven podvzdoshno-bedrennogo segmenta u patsientov s posttromboticheskoi bolezn'iu.

The present study was aimed at assessing initial results of hybrid operations in obstructive lesions of the iliac-femoral veins in patients with post-thrombotic disease (PTD). Hybrid operations [open endovenectomy from the common femoral vein (CFV) with creation of an arteriovenous fistula + stenting of iliac veins] were performed carried out in a total of eleven patients with PTD. Of these, there were 7 men and 4 women aged from 34 to 52 years (mean age - 42.8±7 years). All patients had severe-degree chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). The distribution of patients according to the CEAP classification was as follows: C4a - 2 patients, C4b - 4 patients, C5 - 4 subjects, C6 - 1 patient. The time having elapsed since a newly onset episode of acute iliac-femoral venous thrombosis varied from 2 to 12 years (averagely - 7.1±3.3 years). The degree of manifestation of PTD was determined by means of the Villalta-Pradoni scale before and 6 months after the operation. Instrumental methods of study included ultrasound duplex scanning (USDS), magnetic resonance and/or multispiral computed venography, and contrast-enhanced X-ray venography. The technical success of the procedure amounted to 91%. In one patient with occlusion of the common and external iliac veins we failed to perform recanalization and stenting. A further one patient developed in-stent and CFV thrombosis on the second postoperative day. An attempt of catheter thrombolysis turned out unsuccessful. There were no wound complications in the postoperative period. Neither was pulmonary artery thromboembolism registered. The dynamic control was carried out by means of USDS before discharge from hospital and at 1, 3 and 6 months after the intervention. The outcomes of hybrid operations after 6 months were followed up in five patients. Secondary patency rate of the stented iliac veins amounted to 100%. No relapses of trophic ulcers were observed. According to the Villalta-Prandoni scale the value of the median of the composite index decreased from 15 to 7 (p=0.012). The first experience with hybrid operations for obstructive lesions of veins of the iliac-femoral segment demonstrated their high efficacy and safety. Efficiency of the operation was confirmed by significant clinical improvement and good results of patency of the restored-repaired segments of veins.

[Remote results of veno-venous bypass operations in post-thrombotic disease].

The present study was aimed at analyzing the remote results of the operation of cross-over autovenous bypass at terms varying from 2 to 28 years in a total of 68 patients presenting with unilateral post-thrombotic occlusive lesions of iliac veins and in 12 patients operated on for obstruction of the femoral vein (saphenopopliteal bypass grafting). The obtained findings showed that a decisive factor of successful cross-over bypass grafting was a sufficient diameter of the autovenous transplant (not less than 7-8 mm). It was determined that in 70.6% of patients the cross-over bypass grafts become dilated with time and thus provide adequate outflow of blood from the affected extremity. Studies of the phlebodynamics in the diseased limb under the conditions of an open and cross-clamped shunt demonstrated that in 72% of patients the main function on carrying out venous return is performed by a cross-over shunt. Some shunts (20.7%) undergo pathological transformation in the form of deforming ectasias and cicatricial stenosis, which in many cases deteriorates the conditions of the outflow of blood and requires secondary surgical correction of the shunts. These operations were successfully performed in patients in the remote terms. Patency of the grafts at 15 years of follow up amounted to 79.6%. There was significant improvement of the outcomes of the bypassing operation observed in application of distal arteriovenous fistulas. A permanent clinical effect was achieved in 74.4% of patients with the functioning shunts. Patency of the saphenopopliteal shunts within the follow-up terms up to 12 years amounted to 91.7%. The remote results showed their reliable function and improvement of the regional phlebodynamics. It was determined that the shunts could function for a long time, not undergoing pathological ectasia. Forty-eight patients during dynamic follow up were subjected to operations on superficial and perforant veins with predominant application of minimally invasive technologies.

[Certain technical aspects of performing carotid endarterectomy].

AIM: The study was aimed at improving the results of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) by means of improving technical methods of performing reconstruction of the carotid bifurcation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January 2012 to December 2014 at the Department of Vascular Surgery we performed a total of 703 CEA operations, including 183 (26%) according to the classical technique and 520 (74%) according to the eversion technique. The average age of patients amounted to 61.8±9.5 years. Operations were performed in patients with more than 70% stenoses of the internal carotid artery (ICA). 673 reconstructions were performed under general anaesthesia and 30 under the regional one. The preoperative examination included ultrasound duplex scanning (USDS), transcranial dopplerography, transcranial duplex scanning, magnetic resonance tomography (angiography). The technical result of the operation was assessed by means of intraoperative USDS. 62 (9%) patients underwent eversion CEA with prolongation of the cut on the ICA and external carotid artery (ECA) with the formation of an "extended" anastomosis between them. 28 (4%) patients were subjected to the classical CEA with the use of the technique of formation of a new bifurcation of the carotid artery by means of Y-shaped arteriotomy of the common carotid artery, ICA and ECA. In order to prevent flotation of the proximal portion of the atherosclerotic plaque cut in the common carotid artery it was fixed by II-shaped sutures. The remote results of eversion CEA with the creation of the "extended" anastomosis were followed up in 42 (68%) patients within the terms of 21±8 months. There were neither lethal outcomes nor strokes. Significant stenosis (more than 70% of the ICA lumen) was revealed in one patient. After CEA with the formation of a new bifurcation in the immediate postoperative period there were no cerebral circulation impairments. 18 (64%) patients were examined in the remote terms (21±9 months). There were neither lethal outcomes nor strokes. The check USDS revealed no significant restenoses of carotid arteries. Conclusion were drawn that preliminary marking of the carotid bifurcation with the help of USDS made it possible to optimize the length of the approach during CEA. The routine application of intraoperative USDS gives a possibility to reveal floating portions of the intima, thrombotic masses and to timely take measures aimed at removing these defects. The method of forming a new bifurcation of the carotid artery may be used in prolonged stenotic lesions of carotid arteries. This makes it possible to avoid the use of a synthetic patch with possible unfavourable aftermaths, thus considerably shortening the duration of the main stage of reconstruction.